Single Person See-Saw

The Idea

This toy design is known as the single person see-saw. It doubles as both a see-saw usable for two people or one person. This allows a child to enjoy the see-saw effect while not needing a second person on the other side. The principles that this toy is based upon are the distrobution of weights, the force of gravity, and gears.

How It Works

The single person see-saw works using a series of weights, gears, rods with teeth, and a few mechanisms that move or attach onto the weight. Normally, with two people the see-saw works by having two weights (each child) on each end of the see-saw and having child from the end that is closest to the ground push up with a force from his own legs to allow the other child to lower and is repeated. The way this toy would work is that there is a hidden weight located at the center piece/joint of the see-saw that is attached to the balancing beam in a way that it causes an imbalance in the weight distribution. This weight is to be standardized to an amount that is heavier than the average weight of a child of the oldest age in the recommended age group. This forces the child sitting down to always have his side raised higher. By manually pulling the handle that is located in front of the seat of the child the inner weight is released from it's position and the child side now becomes heavier allowing his side to lower itself to the ground. A mechanism inside the center piece would allow the weight to be reattached and raise the child up again by the child pushing on the lever that s/he previously pulled and thus the effect starts all over again. This toy would be quite costly to manufacture and install and is would probably be bought by schools, parks, and other more money endowed institutions. In terms of safety it would be extremely hard for a child to hurt himself. A strap for the seat can be easily made for the device and all mechanisms that work the see-saw would be internal. This device would also be very durable as it would be made of metal.